Madame Pierre Gautreau, by Antonio de la Gandara, and
Mary Motte Alston, by Edward Savage.

Since late spring, the curatorial staff has been working diligently on plans for the upcoming exhibition Face Lift: The Power of Portraits. Portraiture is one of the oldest and most popular forms of artistic expression and anyone familiar with the Gibbes knows it boasts of a particularly prominent collection of American portraiture. For this exhibition we set out to delve deep into the collection with the goal to bring forth the magnificent stories our diverse portraiture collection tells.

Our quest to select works for the exhibition began with numerous, thorough searches of our collection database. The database contains vital information and an image for each of the nearly 7000 works of art housed at the Gibbes, and is a valuable tool for narrowing the field of options. Next, we decided to display works together in pairs. Juxtaposing the portraits in this way draws attention to notable elements such as pose, costume, size, and props that together, reveal a story beyond a portrait’s primary purpose of documenting the likeness of the individual. Naturally a number of striking portraits stood out as fascinating comparisons. For instance, we found the full-length portraits of Madame Pierre Gautreau, painted by Antonio de la Gandara in 1897, and Mary Motte Alston, painted by Edward Savage in 1792 captivating in both composition and in the context of the very different lives these two women led. In their portraits Mme. Gautreau and Mrs. Alston pose facing opposite directions, and the women themselves were indeed contrary to one another.

Virginie Avegno Gautreau is perhaps better known as the infamous “Madame X,” the name bestowed upon a portrait of her by John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1884. Originally from Louisiana, Virginie Avegno and her family moved to Paris after the Civil War. There she married the wealthy Parisian, Pierre Gautreau. Well known for her startling beauty and expensive tastes, many Parisian women resented Mme. Gautreau’s social prominence. So, when Sargent’s scandalous portrait was exhibited, Paris’s social elite ostracized her. Mme. Gautreau spent the rest of her life trying to repair her reputation by commissioning new portraits of herself. Antonio de la Gandara often painted society women and celebrities, and was receptive to Mme. Gautreau’s needs. In his portrait, Mme. Gautreau conveys that age has brought her a modest elegance, but still she retains her supple physique, arresting profile, and coquettish nature.

In contrast, Mrs. Alston does not use a fan, strappy dress, or languid pose to draw attention to her beauty. Her priorities are markedly different from Mme. Gautreau’s conceptions of social status and physical appearance. Her defiantly assertive pose looking out from the canvas denotes this difference from Mme. Gautreau’s world of self-absorption. A Charleston native, Mrs. Alston was the wife of a wealthy plantation owner, yet she possessed deep compassion for the poor and sick surrounding her, and was known to frequently bring food and clothing to those in distress. She was also strong proponent of self-improvement through education and deplored idleness. In a letter to her fifteen year-old daughter, she wrote, “I have written to Mrs. Kershaw to give you $15 which I beg you not to spend foolishly and get four bonnets as you did last summer, but get useful things.” Imagine what Mrs. Alston would say to Mme. Gautreau!

Face Lift: The Power of Portraiture opens September 3 in the Main Gallery and will feature fourteen portrait pairings, each revealing portraiture’s remarkable capacity for storytelling. See a list of current and upcoming exhibitions.

—Sara Arnold, Curator of Collections, Gibbes Museum of Art

contributesara    Aug.30.2010    Exhibitions    No Comments »

Students on a guided tour discuss the painting April, by Childe Hassam.

School Year 2010–2011 is here! Most teachers and students return to their classrooms the week of August 16th for another year of enlightenment. The Gibbes Museum is excited, as always, to be a part of this learning process. There are many different ways schools can utilize the Gibbes’ resources to enhance their curriculum. My role, as Associate Curator of Education, is to plan programs that help our audience enjoy the museum and learn about art history. Let me share some insider tips on how to make the most of the Gibbes.

On www.gibbesmuseum.org, we provide a wealth of information in our Learn section. First, look over our tour information. We have guided tours for preschool through 12th grade classes that are aligned with the S.C. Learning Standards. And, there is always the option for a teacher to lead their own self-guided tour. We also bring art into the schools with the Gibbes Art to Go program. Through Gibbes Art to Go, any school or organization can submit a request for a teaching artist to lead a hands-on project in their school. Proposal forms can be downloaded online.

Teachers have their very own area on our website—Just for Educators—where they can build their own gallery of images using our collection and download our Educator’s Guide. We provide a bound copy of the guide to every teacher that brings their class for a tour, and it can also be mailed out or picked up at the museum. The Educator’s Guide is a great way for teachers to explore our collection before, after, or in place of a visit.  Of course we hope it will not be in place of a visit, but we know not every teacher will be able to visit the Gibbes this school year. Contact me at rsailor@gibbesmuseum.org to request a guide. In addition to teaching tools, information about the Mary Whyte Art Educator Award is also available in Just for Educators. The annual award recognizes a high school art teacher in the tri-county Charleston area who has demonstrated superior commitment to their students and to their craft. I encourage you to nominate yourself or a deserving art educator today!

One of the final stops on the website under Learn is the Gibbes Interactions features. Select a signature work of art from the Gibbes collection, and enjoy an in-depth exploration of the artists, subjects, and styles that have shaped the art of Charleston and the south. You can display Interactions on your Smart Board and have fun!

Remember, we are your visual arts museum. Come for a visit whether it is in-person or virtually. Welcome Back to School!

—Rebecca Sailor, Associate Curator of Education, Gibbes Museum of Art

Above: Photo by Scott Henderson

contributerebecca    Aug.17.2010    Awards, Education, Programs    No Comments »

Untitled, ca. 1940s-50s, by Nell Choate Shute (American, 1898–1966), 2010.005.0002B

Have you visited the Gibbes lately? If so, you may notice new faces in the building. Yes, we do have a few new staff members, but I am referring to the new paintings and works on paper on display in The Charleston Story. Ok, they are not really new in the sense that they were just created—although a few of the works are new acquisitions—but many of these pieces have been in storage for a while so they are new to our visitors. Confused yet?

Let’s start over. Each January and July we rotate objects on display in The Charleston Story, a fabulous exhibition that showcases the range and depth of the Gibbes permanent collection. The Charleston Story is installed in nine different galleries throughout the museum and currently includes over 150 works of art. However, this is only a small fraction of the Gibbes permanent collection which contains over 1500 paintings and miniature portraits and 4000 works of art on paper! Objects are rotated in and out of the ongoing exhibition so we can share as many works as possible with our visitors. Object changes also serve a conservation purpose. Over time, all objects can change or deteriorate as a result of environmental conditions. The major environmental factors that affect the long-term preservation of objects are light, relative humidity, and temperature. Works on paper are especially susceptible to light so we store them in cool, dark containers after six months on display. How an object is handled, displayed, and stored can mean the difference between preserving it for many years or for only a short time.

Rotating objects in The Charleston Story is a group effort and requires months of pre-planning. Sara Arnold, our Curator of Collections, chooses the objects for the exhibition. She must consider how a particular piece will fit the theme of each section as well as how it will fit visually with other works in the gallery. Sara also researches each object and writes descriptions about the artist or subject matter—no small task! Once Sara selects the objects for the rotation, I enter the picture. As Director of Collections Administration, one of my responsibilities is to oversee the movement of artwork within the building. I identify an object’s storage location, remove the object from storage, and assess its overall condition. Greg Jenkins, the museum’s preparator, then completes any matting and framing required for exhibition.

Objects are pulled from storage and prepared for installation.

After works are chosen, conditioned, and prepared for view, we set an installation schedule. Changing out The Charleston Story can be logistically complicated due to the fact that it spans multiple galleries. For the safety of the objects, we try to complete most art installation on Mondays when the museum is closed to the public. However, try as we might, reinstallation of galleries almost always takes longer than a day, and sometimes a week! The process of hanging art work is interesting (lots of math) but not always pretty (think hammers, drills, tape measures, tool carts, and labels). If you visit the Gibbes in January or July you may see art moving around the building or encounter a roped off gallery where we are working diligently to finish the switch. We love an audience and encourage questions from our visitors.

On installation days, Greg and I first remove works from exhibit and return them safely to storage. Next, the remaining works are taken down in preparation for a new arrangement. When the gallery walls are clear, the new additions are brought into the space. We position them around the room on carpet squares or a set of “bumpers,” which are special carpeted planks that protect ornate frames. At this point, Sara is back on the scene to determine how best to arrange the pieces within the gallery, and Greg begins to install. Once the art is on the wall, he hangs the labels, removes his tools, resets the lights, and… voila, The “new” Charleston Story. The final step includes checking the condition of works removed from exhibition and updating the object locations in our collections database.

Preparator Greg Jenkins reinstalling a wall in Gallery G.

So there you have it—another behind-the-scenes look at what your friendly museum staff does with their time. Come see what’s new—I’m off to the next project!

—Zinnia Willits, Director of Collections Administration, Gibbes Museum of Art

Tour highlights of the Gibbes’ collection with one of our interactive online features.

Continue Reading »

contributezinnia    Aug.12.2010    Behind the scenes, Exhibitions, Permanent Collection    No Comments »

Manifest, 2010, by Stacy Lynn Waddell (American, b. 1966)

Over the next few weeks, the Gibbes collections and curatorial staff will be hard at work in preparation for the opening of Stacy Lynn Waddell: The Evidence of Things Unseen. On view September 3 – December 5, 2010, this exhibition will feature recent work by contemporary artist Stacy Lynn Waddell in her first solo museum exhibition. Waddell’s work is a fascinating blend of painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, and installation created with her innovative technique of burning, singeing, and branding paper and canvas.

Organizing an exhibition such as this is no easy task. It is truly a team effort that requires close to two years of planning. This particular exhibition began with a series of conversations between me and the artist. Together, we hatched a plan for the overall scope of the exhibition and important details such as the dates, gallery location, number of works, etc. As luck would have it, the Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was also interested in hosting an exhibition of Waddell’s work, and a collaboration was born.

To prepare for the exhibition, I took two trips to Durham, NC to visit Stacy in her studio, along with Xandra Eden, the Curator of Exhibitions at the Weatherspoon. Studio visits are one of the best parts of my job. I get to see artwork first hand while building a relationship with the artist—important things when curating a contemporary exhibition. During our visits with Stacy, our main objective was to select the objects for the exhibition. It was important for Stacy, Xandra, and I to meet as a group and develop an object list that worked for both venues and also matched Stacy’s vision for the show.

But selecting the works in only half the story. Once the object list is finalized we need to figure out how to pack the works, ship them to the museum, and install them in the gallery. This requires hard work and ingenuity on the part of our Director of Collections Administration, Zinnia Willits, and our Director of Operations and Preparator, Greg Jenkins. Greg and Zinnia are our resident experts on all things related to art handling, movement, and installation. In the meantime, I am busy writing an essay for the exhibition brochure, preparing label copy and text panels, planning the exhibition layout, and managing all other details of the project. Did I book Stacy a hotel room for the exhibition opening? Do we have high resolution images for our marketing materials? These are the things that pop into my head at 3 o’clock in the morning…

Many, many emails and phone calls later, we are in the home stretch. I have to say, I am really looking forward to seeing this exhibition on the gallery walls, and I know Stacy is too. Come see the final results—the exhibition opens on Friday, September 3—it should be a good time.

—Pam Wall, Curator of Exhibitions, Gibbes Museum of Art

contributepam    Aug.05.2010    Behind the scenes, Exhibitions    1 Comment »

Katie Gephart, summer intern, with camper Parker Weeks.

My name is Katie Gephart, and this summer I interned in the museum’s Education and Outreach department. In the fall, I’ll start my senior year at Washington and Lee University where I am majoring in art history and museum studies. My university professors continue to encourage my love of art history, and now—through my internship—I’ve had the opportunity to teach other students about art. My primary responsibility was assisting with the Summer Art Camp. Over the summer, I worked with elementary school students to expand the scope of their art awareness by exposing them to new media, techniques, and sources of inspiration within the Gibbes Museum. The summer camp themes included In the Forest, Go Global, and ArtStory, and each week we created special projects that both reflected these themes and introduced the campers to important artists and artistic traditions. Sharing art history with the children and helping them translate the concepts and ideas into their own work was immeasurably rewarding.

April (The Green Gown), 1920, By Childe Hassam (American, 1859 – 1935). Oil on canvas; 56 x 82 1/4 in. Gibbes Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Archer Huntington (1936.09.01).

Once a week, the campers went into the galleries to explore the museum’s collection and incorporated what they saw into their art projects. Last week, ArtStory focused on an artist’s ability to tell stories without words, using only form, line, and color. We looked at the large oil painting, April: (The Green Gown) by Childe Hassam—one of my favorite paintings in the collection—and asked how the woman’s story might be different if she wore a red gown instead. The group really seemed to connect to this idea and shared how different colors make them feel. Watching the kids process this important principle of art theory and apply it to their own art work was so exciting for me to observe. The Gibbes offers its campers such a special opportunity by sharing the collection, and I’ve been so grateful to share my knowledge of art with the kids and see how their techniques improve and enthusiasm for art grows.

—Katie Gephardt, summer intern, Education and Outreach Department, Gibbes Museum of Art

Sally Collins, art educator, works with campers to create their own works of art.

Learn more about public programs, classes, and camp at the Gibbes Museum of Art.

contributeintern    Jul.27.2010    Behind the scenes, Education, Programs, Summer Art Camp    1 Comment »

Sarah West, a summer intern in the Curatorial and Collections Departments, handles a woodblock print by Hokusai in the Gibbes collection.

I have spent the past four years staring at slide after slide of art: Jasper Johns, John Singleton Copley, Jan van Eyck … and the Johns go on. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, I was exposed to the cultural and social implications behind these artists and their work. I memorized myriad names and dates, and I made more flashcards than I care to count. My first-year art history class was held in a massive auditorium, and the floor to ceiling projection made each piece look more and more foreboding. Over the next three years, classes moved into smaller lecture halls, and I found myself seated at a crowded conference table, discussing the monumentality of Giotto’s use of internal modeling in the Arena Chapel. As my studies became more specific, I would occasionally find the time to visit with these works face to face in museums. I would tell anyone who would listen (so usually I was talking to myself) what I knew about the work in front of me, closing my eyes and reciting the dates aloud to see if I could remember them. It would often turn out that I could only remember half of what my teacher had so eloquently lectured, and my dates were at least five years off every time.

Limehouse, 1859, by James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834 – 1903). Etching on paper. Gibbes Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Anton Vreede (2004.004.0003)

After graduating from U.Va in May, I returned home to Charleston to begin my summer internship with the Gibbes. I knew that I would be working with Zinnia Willits, Director of Collections Administration, and Sara Arnold, Curator of Collections, but I was not quite sure what “collections” entailed. My academic bubble of names, faces, and dates had left me completely oblivious to what goes on behind the scenes in the museum world. I understood that each work of art the traveling exhibitions at the U.Va Art Museum had come from somewhere else, but I never put any thought into who had organized the exhibit, or the hard work that was required to actually prepare and transport these works from one museum to the next. In my time with the Gibbes, I have touched (with gloves) etchings by James McNeill Whistler, drawn up a condition report on a William Merritt Chase painting, and witnessed the last minute conservation of a work by Picasso. The godlike artists of my college years have become more like aged celebrities – I still revere them, but I now know how much work has gone into keeping up their glossy façades, and just how many people it takes to get them from one venue to the next.

—Sarah West, summer intern, Curatorial and Collections Departments, Gibbes Museum of Art

Still Life with Fish, 1903, by William Merritt Chase (American, 1849 – 1916). Oil on canvas. Gibbes Museum of Art, Gift of Anna Heyward Taylor (1947.011.0001).

Femme dans un fauteuil, 1956, by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881 – 1973). Oil on canvas; 39 ½ x 31 ½ in. Courtesy of Esther and James Ferguson.

Explore more of the Gibbes’ collection in our online database.

Download the Gibbes College Internship application (PDF).

contributeintern    Jul.20.2010    Behind the scenes, Exhibitions, Permanent Collection    No Comments »

Boone Hall Plantation, ca. 1925, by Edwin Harleston (American, 1882 – 1931). Oil on canvas. Gibbes Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. Harleston Fleming (1997.009).

This summer the spotlight is on Charleston’s early twentieth-century artist, Edwin Augustus Harleston (1882–1931). Six paintings by Harleston are now on view in Gallery H. The works represent both his acclaimed portraiture and his landscapes of the South Carolina Lowcountry. This spotlight exhibition was inspired by the recent loan of Edwin Harleston’s magnificent 1921 portrait of Reverend Ceasar Ledbetter, pastor of Chaleston’s Plymouth Congregational Church. Rarely exhibited, this painting has not been on public view since the 1980s and has been generously loaned to the Gibbes by the Ledbetter family. This striking portrait of Reverend Ledbetter is among Harleston’s finest work.

Gallery Installation View (left to right): The Nurse, 1917; Portrait of Reverend Caesar S. Ledbetter, 1921; and The Honey Man, ca. 1929, all by Edwin Harleston (American, 1882 – 1931).

Harleston was a graduate of Avery Normal Institute in Charleston, Atlanta University, and received his art training at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Despite his artistic talent and prestigious training, as an African American, Harleston was banned from entering many of Charleston’s cultural sites and was shunned by the city’s white, art community. Nevertheless, his work received national attention and by the mid 1920s Harleston was offered exhibition opportunities and commissions from patrons in Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C., and New York. The Gibbes currently owns six works by Harleston, including his renowned Portrait of Aaron Douglas, also on view.

Visit the Gibbes Museum of Art through August 29, 2010, to see this exhibition.

See the Gibbes Museum online database to view other works by Harleston in the museum’s collection.

contributesara    Jul.15.2010    Exhibitions, Permanent Collection    No Comments »

Laura Kovalsky, Gibbes Museum summer intern, en route to distribute museum rack cards.

My name is Laura Kovalsky, and I am a summer communications intern at the Gibbes Museum of Art. I am a rising senior at the University of Alabama, but I’m enjoying living and working in Charleston for the summer. At the Gibbes—aside from my daily responsibilities of organizing press clippings, updating information for the communications department, and attending meetings—one of the most unique things that I have been able to do is a form of grassroots marketing. The museum distributes rack cards, which are flyers describing the year’s exhibitions, to local art galleries for them to display to promote current and upcoming exhibitions. For the Gibbes, rack cards are an important communication tool because they are an easily accessible way for visitors to get information about the museum.

While walking around town to different galleries, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with gallery owners and view a wide variety of artwork. I learned about the art community in Charleston and the connection many artists feel to the beautiful landscape and the people of this city. Because I am new to the Charleston area, I enjoyed finding some of the more hidden galleries and going to places that I probably would not have known about otherwise. It was a unique way to tour the city through its art. During this process of spreading the word about the Gibbes, I was actually able to learn about local artists and the city.

Download the Gibbes College Internship application (PDF).

contributeintern    Jul.12.2010    Behind the scenes, Classes    No Comments »

Last week the ladies from Southern Protocol taught etiquette to 4-7 year old children in the museum’s Welcome Gallery. The children learned how to set the table, politely get someone’s attention, use please and thank you, and many other lessons. To celebrate their accomplishments, the class held a reception and certificate presentation ceremony on Friday afternoon. Petite Protocol continues this week with a session for 8-12 year old children.

Eli Barker receiving his certificate from Mrs. Lizz

adminmarla    Jun.29.2010    Classes, Education, Welcome Gallery    No Comments »

Gibbes Summer Art Camp is wrapping up its third week of creative fun. The campers have been busy studying and making art from around the globe including Africa, New Zealand, and other faraway lands. Pictured are campers making clay necklaces with their teacher Mrs. Sally Collins.

Spots are still available in the Art Story sessions scheduled for July 12-16 (ages 4-7) and July 19-23 (ages 8-12). To register, contact Rebecca Sailor at 843.722.2706 x41.

Olivia Jones

Gray Willits

Shep Richards

Gray and Shep discuss the day's work

adminmarla    Jun.25.2010    Education, Summer Art Camp    No Comments »